Friday, August 15, 2008

Amazing Returning Prodigal Story or Look-Alike Imposter?

This past Monday morning I received a call from a couple whose kids I tutor on Saturdays and whom I visit from time to time.

The last time I wrote about this family, it was in relation to a so-called Mini-Power Encounter that might have transpired.

This time, the family called to tell me about a bird someone who lives a few hundred yards behind my house had given to them. The person had said the bird had just flown into their yard the day before.

This family knew how my yellow love bird whom they had seen had flown off back in the middle of May, so they got into immediate contact with me.

Same bird or near look-alike? That is the question. This one is very tame. Since several families with kids I've observed appear to poke and torture their birds more than work with them, and since this community is small to begin with (there are only 2 bird shops within a 40 mile or so radius and only 3,000 people in this town), that would seem to imply it might well be the same bird.

On the flip side, this bird does not seem to be quite as tame as the one I lost, as that one would fly back to me like a boomerang whenever I tossed it in the air. Simply chalk that change in attitude to having experienced 3 months of freedom? After all, it still sits on my hand, hides behind my shoulder, etc.

This bird also has a deeper fuller shade of red on its neck and head. But might that simply be due to the fact that it is 9 months old rather than just 6 months?

It also seems rather clean. I would think if the original bird had been out in the wild for three months, it might look a little dirtier. Maybe it had a different owner for a while and made another get-away? Or a different (cleaner) bird made its own get-away?

For sentimental reasons, I prefer to assume it's the same creature. Maybe God brought it back specifically to go through the same family as I talked about in the earlier post! SHARE YOUR OPINION ON THE POLL TO THE LOWER RIGHT!